English Literature 12 » Romantic

Class Notes for Keats’ “When I Have Fears…”

Mr. N — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 21:32:46 +0000

Today’s class was time spent in the sun.

We looked at Keats’ “When I have Fears…”

Some brief notes from discussion that stick in my head:

this poem seems really personal, and not out to change the world like some of Shelley or Byron’s works
the poet claims to be afraid of dying before getting out all his thoughts
this sticks with his life story, as Keats lost his brother and also died of tuberculosis (lots of people dying young)
he seems quite down–it sounds like a journal entry or a letter to a trusted friend
the last couple of lines suggest that thinking and reflection are more important to him than love and fame–this goes along well with his fears of dying before he gets out all his thoughts/poems/writing
there seems to be reference to love…we aren’t sure if it is romantic love or love for writing…

Just a few notes there. It seems like a poem written to express emotion rather than gain fame. I think Tamara brought up that point, and I agree. Keats seems more into his own emotional turmoil in this poem. He doesn’t seem to be out to inspire people with great words or ideas. It seems really honest, really spontaneous (ie not polished), and his fears are not resolved by the end of the poem.

I think of Curt Cobain when I read this, or grunge music in general. Just really melancholy…

Remember to read for Monday: Tennyson’s “Ulysses” (one of my favourites!) and “Sonnet 43″

Remember that your poems are due on Monday! Enjoy creating them, I know I am!

Ango’s Class Notes for Keats’ “Ode to a Knightingale”

Mr. N — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:56:45 +0000

Another day of Eng. Lit Class
Mr. N went to see Beowulf and Grendel (not recommended to see)
Keats:
25 at death
Byron, Shelley: born into upper class, more leisure time
born into working class
1818: 23 yrs. publishes first poem; crap-crapped by critics, poem not very good
brother died of tuberculosis, met light of life: Fanny Brown
24: writes a ton of stuff b/c of emotions; big into natural beauty, connecting with nature
Ode: lyric poem characterized by height and emotion, paying respect to a person or a thing (similar to apostrophe)
Ode to a Nightingale
-hanging out with buddy, nightingale comes along, inspired by bird
-trying to sound spontaneous; depressed
-escape from troubles;
-looking for rest? only way to find it is by dying
-bird doesn’t have concern of dying
-is the bird immortal?
Robyn says yes! This bird will die, but there will be other birds.
-The word forlorn brings Keats back to reality! (weirdo!)
-spontaneous
This poem was odd!

A great class!

Mr. N — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:23:14 +0000

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed class today. Not the quiz stuff…that was business.

Reading Byron’s “Apostrophe…” was like riding a big wave or going to church (insert appropriate simile here). It was amazing and outstanding and I really enjoyed hearing your summaries of each stanza!
The outcome of this sublime class: that essay assignment I handed out has been taken back in. It has been put off for a while as we will attempt to create our own apostrophes.

Thank you for your willingness to jump into the unknown…

I think it will be an interesting journey!

Have an outstanding day. Remember to be thinking of what topic you want to write about. We will get down to it on Friday’s class.

No reading assigned, just thinking–> “To mingle with the universe, and feel / What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal” (Byron, “Apostrophe to the Ocean,” 8-9).

Ango’s class notes on Byron’s “Apostrophe to the Ocean”

Mr. N — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:15:57 +0000

Thanks, Ango for taking these notes. She did them in many colours, which was really cool, but it doesn’t show up on the blog. Sorry.
(A stanza by stanza summary- one done by each of you!)
Apostrophe to the Ocean–George Gordon, by Lord Byron
1. Something special about going where there aren’t any people; solitude, being in nature; ocean makes music with its waves. When he is experiencing this, he discovers something about himself (steals from what he is); becomes simpler, and in doing so, becomes part of something larger (finds his place in this universe). Something he can never express but can’t help to show his feelings for it: sublime!
2. Man can take over the earth, but they can’t take over the sea. By taking over the earth, it becomes ruined. Sea is very powerful, many ships have sunk to the bottom.
3. Gives the sea credit for its power. On the open ocean, people are pretty much lost–it is powerful and unpredictable.
4. The ocean can destroy everything we value–cities, rulers, etc are subject to its ‘power’.
5. Compares ocean and shores to different empires. This has had a negative effect on the world. The ocean is pretty much changeless over time.
6. Talks about different kinds of weather and how the ocean is a mirror–a glorious one– mirrors storms & the Almighty: can be calm or convulsed, cold or hot. Ocean obeys God (the Almighty).
7. When a child–he played in the ocean. When it was stormy, he still loved it (enjoyed being afraid of it). A big delight to him then & now. Like a parent.

Tamara’s notes for Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Mr. N — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 21:55:43 +0000

Thanks to Tamara for taking these extensive notes in class!

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
from page 686
1.going to a wedding ~~~~> mariner stops someone ~~~~> and tells a story
2.on a ship ~~~~> storm ~~~~> stuck in the ice somewhere in the south pole
3.Albatross arrives ~~~~> things get better ~~~~> then the mariner shoots it! (how cruel!) ~~~~> then the fog clears [the crew praise his actions]
4.the wind dies ~~~~> stuck in the doldrums (sailing on the ocean where there is no wind, no current the ship can’t move at all!) ~~~~> the crew members give the mariner the dead 5.Albatross as a reward ~~~~> the mariner must wear it around his neck
6. another ship appears on the horizon, when blocking the sun it resembles a skeleton?
7.passengers of the ship are ~~~~> Life and Death ~~~~> playing dice
death wins the mariner (cursed)
8.shipmates all die! ~~~~> their spirits/souls all “wiz” (is an onomatopoeia) by ~~~~> the dead bodies of the crew mates are staring at the mariner because he caused them their lives
9.blesses the snakes ~~~~> then the Albatross falls off of his neck, therefore the curse has been lifted ~~~~> the crew doesn’t talk to the mariner, but they do get back to work ~~~~> the mariner can hear this singing that the crew members seem to be making
10.wind picks up ~~~~> the mariner faints ~~~~> begins to hear voices of two people talking about how the mariner will do more penance
11.wakes up from his dream ~~~~> boat slows done ~~~~>realizes that they’re coming back to the harbour being guided in by a pilot and his son ~~~~> a hermit is approaching the ship ~~~~> mariner thinks the hermit and forgive him ~~~~> but before the hermit can approach the ship the boat he’s on sinks
12.but he is saved onto the pilots boat ~~~~> but his ship and crew are gone forever
the pilot throws a fit ~~~~> hermits praying ~~~~> the boy goes crazy and says some stuff about the devil
the mariner tells the wedding guests that he must tell the story over his sea journey over and over and over and over and over . . . because he has to tell people to love creation
love creation! treat it with respect or you may be cursed! is the moral of the story for the sea mariner.

Spring Break Reading…

Mr. N — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:14:36 +0000

Hi everyone,

I hope you enjoyed the house team activities today as a relaxing alternative to Literature class!
Don’t worry about the quiz, we will do that when you return from spring break.

Remember that your assignment for spring break is as follows:

1. Have fun and relax! Spend time with your friends and family…enjoy life!
2. Read Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (pg. 686 +). The text summarizes it nicely for you as you go, which is great for this poem!
3. Answer #3,5,6 on pg. 709. If you want to do this on the team blog, go for it. Paper is totally fine if you prefer.
4. Did I mention having fun??

I hope that you have an outstanding, relaxing, fun-filled and refreshing couple of weeks off. I hope God knocks your socks off (ie blesses you) with real refreshment and laughter.

See you in a couple of weeks…
cheers,
mr. n.

Ben’s class notes: Blake’s “Tyger”, “Lamb”, and Gray’s “Elegy…”

Mr. N — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 22:48:27 +0000

Thanks, Ben.

The Lamb:
- Blake talks about the lamb and how peaceful it is
- Blake goes on to compare the lamb to Jesus who was called “The Lamb of God”
- The poem uses apostrophe when Blake asks the lamb questions; he then answers himself
- Blake suggests that nature and man are equivalent in a way
- This poem uses Blake’s belief that enlightenment and understanding come from being in a childlike state, yet experience is also required
The Tyger:
- Blake asks of the tyger how it came to be
- Blake wonders how such a fearsome creature was created and whether it was made by the same God who made the lamb
- What does the tyger say about God? The tyger must reflect something of the one who made it and therefore God must be more complex than he appears
- The tyger seems to be a symbol used to represent the evil in the world: which is in seeming paradox with the good represented by the lamb
- Tigers in Blake’s time were seen as vicious creatures who killed on whim
Gray’s Elegy:
- Takes place in a cemetary. He talks about the mounds of earth that bodies are buried in: this poem is about death
- Gray talks about how happy the peasant people were while they were alive; at the same time he mocks power, wealth, and nobility saying that death ends it all
- Gray thinks about all the things in life that people never know, all the chances that people never get because of their place in life.
- The poem ends in an epitaph (writing on a gravestone) that restates Gray’s purpose

Tamara’s class notes for Robert Burns’ “To A Mouse” (Haggis, anyone?)

Mr. N — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 22:24:14 +0000

analysis on page 626 on the poem “To a Mouse on the turning her up in her nest with the plow, november, 1785 by Robert Burns”

Burns was born into a farming family who was poor

this time period for literature was spontaneous and filled with emotion

a time of thinking and reflection, a pastoral time

when he wrote his literature he wrote what he knew and the language of the time

this poem kind of presents the romantic period, because he is concerned about a mouse, spontaneous poem, random, the poem gives you the feeling that he had these thoughts and then went wrote them down

romantic period was about living in the moment and writing spontaneously [ as well as a strong connection to nature- the sublime- nature can inspire]

this poem is about him plowing and accidentally turns over the mouses nest, feels bad and talks to the mouse about how bad he life is

the theme that we can pull out of this poem is comparing mice to men
line 39 “the best laid schemes o’mice an’ men/” probably the most famous line from this poem
[this can be seen as one of the themes of the poem, as Burns is talking about how both man and animal can make the best plans, but even the best of plans and planning can come to ruin]
line 7 and 8, “I’m truly sorry man’s dominion/ Has broken Nature’s social union.” This shows how human development has ruined nature and the way that it works. [ a second theme of the poem - progress or civilization interferes with nature]